James Taylor has played many better innings, but the Nottinghamshire batsman could still be said to have improved his chances of batting at No5 for England in the third Test at Old Trafford.

After coming uncomfortably close to being bowled by the first delivery he faced, and being dropped on 23, Taylor ground his way to an unbeaten 64 that went some way towards justifying his position as the favourite to replace Kevin Pietersen should the England man not be fit to play in Manchester.

While England's management remain hopeful Pietersen will recover from the calf strain suffered while fielding during Australia's first innings in the Lord's Test, the 33-year-old is unlikely to undergo a full fitness test before Tuesday. The England squad to be announced on Sunday will therefore include Taylor as cover.

If Taylor does play, he may find himself facing an Australian attack including Jackson Bird. The 26-year-old Tasmanian was the pick of the seamers hoping to take the place of the injured James Pattinson in the tourists' Test side, rarely wasting a delivery and regularly making the ball leave the right-handed batsman.

After bowling Luke Wells with a pitched-up ball that said as much about the opener's lack of foot movement as it did about the quality of the delivery, Bird beat Chris Nash three times in one over before a rising delivery found the edge of the Sussex captain's bat for a catch at second slip by Steve Smith.

Bird shared the new ball with Mitchell Starc, and although the left-armer did induce Mike Yardy to top-edge an attempted pull to long leg, he was also characteristically wild.

While Bird's showing was a plus for the Australian selectors, the spin department remains a rather huge problem. Nathan Lyon, expected to come in for the young left-armer Ashton Agar, was treated with almost embarrassing contempt by Rory Hamilton-Brown, who, in one eight-ball sequence, clubbed the off-spinner for five fours and a six, each hit out of the very middle of the bat.

A second huge straight six followed, and Hamilton-Brown had gone to 73 off 50 balls before Agar, having had him dropped by Matthew Wade earlier in the over, saw the wicket-keeper cling on to an edged attempted late cut.

"I feel like I've been bowling well and I'm pretty close to being 100%, so if I'm selected [for Manchester] I think I'm ready to do a good job," Bird said.

"I came here knowing I had to be diligent on my lines and lengths when the sun is out, and not get carried away when it's cloudy and swinging. I try and stand the seam up and bash a length, and one of my plus points is my economy."

Asked what he thought of Taylor, Bird sounded unimpressed. "He was a bit scratchy at times and was dropped once, but he dug in and he's still there," said the bowler, an accurate summation of Taylor's three and a half hours at the crease.